Further Jam Jar Perfection – Centrepieces

Jam jars seem to be increasingly popular on my blog, so why not continue fulfilling your desires?! This time, I am specifically looking a beautiful ways of using jam jars to create gorgeous centrepieces on your wedding tables. Cheap and cheerful – yes. Expensive and complicated – no. Here we go…

1. Simple is sometimes the best – why not pop a flower or two into the jar. One jar will work well on smaller tables, but you can go for as many as you want – even placing one on each place setting. Be careful not to choose big jars with long stemmed flowers otherwise people won’t be able to speak to those sitting across the table from them!

2. Sweeties – homemade or shop bought, either way they should reflect the theme of your wedding and look utterly delicious! Put enough jars on the table for each guest, and they double up as a wedding favour. That makes the clearing up at the end of the night much easier!

3. Candles. So easy. You can paint the glass any colour, or leave it clear, and you can do all sorts inside the jar, such as fill it with sand, or pebbles for example. You can really get this to match your theme. Be careful with ribbon, you don’t want to set the place alight! Try and get candles that will burn for the entire evening.

4. Fruit – use seasonal fruit to jazz up the tables. Tricky to find images to inspire you, but these, courtesy of Marianne Taylor Photography should be enough to convince you it looks beautiful!

I hope this helps to inspire you!

Burrito Van – Alternative Wedding Catering

If you are wanting to have a slightly different wedding than the norm, look no further than a Burrito van to satisfy your guests?

Burritos, a classic Mexican dish, are delicious, and can be built up to each individuals needs, and above all, they are scrummy! Now, my personal favourite Burrito place is Benito’s Hat, with locations at Oxford Circus, Goodge Street and Covent Garden. My boyfriend and his friends introduced me to them a few months ago, and ever since I crave them! Now we have taken friends and family there, and no one ever leaves disappointed! Not sure if they cater for weddings, but if they do boy is it worth it!

However, this article is all about Burrito vans/trucks, which can come and pitch up outside your reception location. Here are a couple of vans which you can locate around London who would be worth contacting…

* Luardos, who pitches up at Whitecross Street Market, London. 11.30am to 2pm, Monday to Friday.

My favourite van by far – super cool and a bit kitsch – a glam van!

* Daddy Donkey, Pitches 100-101 Leather Lane Market, London. Breakfast burritos 7.30 to 11am, kick ass lunch burritos 11am to 4pm.

The self-proclaimed ‘kick ass Mexican grill’. Sounds good! It looks the business too.

Worth a search online to see if there are any more, but these are my faves!

If you are ‘feeling’ this idea, and need a little more inspiration, Green Wedding Shoes has a great article on an inspiration shoot for a food truck wedding. Here are my fave photos…

There are some great ideas here, such as the fab little paper bags with beer in – a more glamorous way of drinking! Enjoy!

All Hail the Jam Jar – Part 2

Well, I seem to have had a lot of interest in my article on the lovely jam jar, and I just came across some new ideas on how they can be used in a creative way, so I had to share it with you.

www.notmartha.org has some great ideas of creating pies and puddings in jars, which would be a great way to serve up your dessert on your special day. And, you could personally decorate the jars, and people can take them home with them after the event.

The ideas are for:

Blueberry cobbler baked in jars

 

Pies baked in jars (you can do any kind of pie)

Firecracker chocolate pudding

The chocolate pudding idea is so quick and easy, and requires no baking. How about trying this with Nigella Lawson’s recipe for chocolate pudding (I have tried this and it is divine!)

After feeling inspired by these ideas, I did a quick internet search for some more inspiration, which produced some more fantastic ideas! See below:

These ideas (above), including the genius muffin baked in a jar, came from Sweet Dream Events, in an article they did on jam jars.

Above, is a fantastic recipe and idea for Guinness Chocolate Pudding, courtesy of Butter Plus Cream.

Above is a recipe from the Good Food Channel for Christmas Trifle.

Wow, the photos above is of S’Mores Cakes in jars, which I found through Janna Beecham. The original ideas comes from How Sweet It Is. Yum!

Darling Notes is where I found the lovely two above. She found them from Babble, in an article about 15 dessert recipes for jam jars!

So, let’s get creative!

Crafty Confetti Made Easy

After my previous post I wanted to offer another quick alternative to DIY confetti – DIFM confetti (‘Do It For Me’ confetti!)

I am a big champion of Etsy, as it brings individuals and small business to a global audience, and really showcases crafty talent at it’s best in a way no other site does. So, if you want the look of homemade confetti, but don’t have the time or patience, let someone else do the hard work for you. Here are my top picks from Etsy…

* Confetti paper hearts by bookishengland

These lovely hearts are cut from old Mills & Boon novels, which is a very romantic touch! This is a seller from Brighton, so postage for UK residents is just 80p (50p for any additional items.) You get approximately 200 hearts per pack, and it costs £5.00

* Personalised paper heart confetti – pure white by mommyholly

Get some lovely heart shaped confetti, this time with your initials printed on each. You get 45 hearts per pack, but get in touch and she says she can make them in any colour, and can make as many as you want. They cost just 91p per pack. As they come from Canada shipping to the UK is £1.97, and 16p for each additional item. Bargain! 

* 1,000 Real Violas, dried wedding flower confetti by pleasanthedges

Breaking away from the heart theme, this is a really beautiful bunch of confetti. The dried violas make a fantastic alternative to the traditional style of confetti, and would work beautifully with a purple themed wedding. The pack costs £93.97, with postage an additional £7.52 

* 100 Vintage Atlas and Map Bird Paper Punches by dreamingofpaper

These are lovely little birdies cut out from maps and atlases, and would be great if you and your parter are known for your travels, or are heading on a travelling adventure for your honeymoon. Why not have them thrown over you as you head on your merry way in the evening, with something more traditional for after the service? The pack of 100 costs £1.41. No shipping costs are listed for the UK, but maybe get in touch with the seller and they can sort something out for you

* Birdseed Tossing Bags with Hand Sewn on Rustic Tags by KOtwo

Now, this is one of my favourites! It is such a fantastic idea, I don’t know why I have never seen this before! This is not only fun, but feeds the birds and is eco-friendly, as it leaves no mess as all the birds have a delicious meal. If you are after something a little different and alternative, this is definitely they way to go. It costs £62.11 for 50 bags, which will be enough for 100 people as each pouch can be shared between two. Postage to the UK costs £9.60

* 200 Cranberry, Cream & Blueberry Stars Confetti by DanisWeddingPretties

These are cute and, I think, slightly kitsch. They are a lovely alternative to traditional candy coloured confetti. A pack of 200 costs just £1.72, with an additional £1.53 for postage to the UK

DIY Confetti – Dried Rose Petals

Making your own confetti is a cheaper way to achieve a more natural feel. It can be pricey to buy real dried petals as confetti, but here is a step by step way to dry you own rose petals at home!

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

• Roses
• Scissors
• Cardboard box
• Plastic bags

1. Cut the stems short, leaving an inch or two attached to the flower.
2. Hold the rose in one hand and use your other hand to gently snap the stem off the flower in one swift motion, as if you were breaking a stick in half. The head of the rose should come off easily.
3. Shake the flower gently over a bin to discard tiny seeds.
4. Loosen all the petals gently from each other and let them fall into cardboard box. Mix the petals as you go, if you are using more than one colour.
5. Make dried petal confetti a few days prior to use and store it in the cardboard box. Transfer to plastic bags on the day of the event. Make fresh petal confetti the same day you will use it and store it in plastic bags until needed

Let me know if you try this out!

Collection Overview – Oscar de la Renta Fall 2011

Wow, this beauty just dropped into my inbox courtesy of Brides Magazine and I had to share it with you. Oscar de la Renta’s Fall 2011 bridal collection , and every piece is so beautiful and elegant. So, if you are looking for your wedding dress and need a little nudge in the right direction, this is definitely worth a look.

Every piece is feminine, glamorous, sexy and, well, fabulous! Here are my highlights from the collection…

The one above is great if you are feeling particularly inspired by Kate Middleton’s gorgeous wedding gown

Visit the Oscar de la Renta website here

 

Vintage Weddings by Marnie Fogg

‘Vintage Weddings’ is a new book by the Marnie Fogg, exploring inspirational wedding dresses through the ages in the form of a fabulous coffee table book. It is jam-packed with imagery to make you go ‘ooooh’ and ‘aaaah’, and I am sure you will find some inspiration in it for your own special day.

The book is a visual journey through weddings over the past century, not only exploring the style of the dresses, but also the ceremonies, designers and cultural influences. Organised in a clear chronological order it is easy to flick through to find inspiration if you are planning a themed wedding. So if you are inspired by the belle opoque elegance of the Edwardian times, or thirties art deco, you will be able to find nuggets of information, including typical cocktails of the era, that will help you on your wedding planning way!

Marnie Fogg is a media consultant in the fashion industry. She has lectured in Visual Studies and the Culture of Fashion at the University of Nottingham. She also has a Master’s degree in Art and Design Advanced Practice and Theory, and has a large number of books to her name.

‘Vintage Weddings’ is available to buy as hardback directly from the publishers, Carlton Books for £15.00 or from Amazon for £16.25 with free delivery in the UK.